Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Grant, South Dakota

2024-01-13 to 2024-01-16 · Grant, South Dakota

Wider weather episode

Expansive high pressure out of Canada followed a clipper system resulting in high winds, arctic cold and dangerous wind chills on January 11th. A second system from the south followed close behind enhancing winds overnight January 12th into the 13th. Extreme cold with dangerous wind chills lingered through January 15th after which temperatures began to moderate.

Record cold high temperatures were set at Pierre, with a high on January 12th of 1 degree below zero, and on January 13th with a high of only 9 degrees below zero. For Aberdeen, Sisseton and Watertown, the temperature remained below zero between the 13th through the 15th, while for Mobridge, the high temperature failed to exceed zero from the 12th through the 15th.

The coldest temperatures were recorded in Eureka and 3 miles east-northeast of Gann Valley, with a low of 22 degrees below zero on the morning of the 15th, while Trail City, Ridgeview and McIntosh all had lows of 20 below. Most of the area witnessed a low of 15 below or colder on that morning as well. The main impact wasn't the cold however, it was the high winds that accompanied the cold which resulted in some extreme wind chill values. The morning of the 13th would see the most extreme of these wind chills, with 68 degrees below zero at Trail City and 67 degrees below zero at Ridgeview. 65 additional weather stations across north central, central and northeast portions of the state registered a wind chill between 45 and 65 below on that morning thanks to wind speeds anywhere between 45 and 55 mph. Additionally, wind chills would again dip below 45 degrees for much of north central and central South Dakota on the morning of the 15th with a minimum wind chill of 53 degrees below zero at both Trail City and Ridgeview thanks to winds of 45 to 55mph.

The extreme cold was responsible for at least one exposure death.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1152339. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.